While my PSP is a handy and reliable gaming platform, it’s been over a year since any title available on the platform has really made me stand up and take notice. I think part of the blame is the library of games being released; it’s an after-thought platform at this point, with iPhone and Droid phones becoming the hot gaming platforms of the last year. Game prices are small by comparison and the coolness factor has left Sony choking in the dust in much the same way modern coffee tables left an old-fashioned metal folding table in the dust decades ago.
So what would reinvigorate my interest in the PSP platform? Good question.
First, it’s time for an all-new PSP with beefier stats all the way around. Forget about maintaining backward compatibility and focus on making the new platform as cool and modern as possible. Pay attention to what iPhone and Droid are doing that works, and then improve upon it.
In fact, I’d recommend Sony forming a partnership with Google on the next PSP, so that it can use the Android OS and have access to the entire Android market. Sony could then make their own game apps available not just to new PSP2 owners, but the entire Android market.
So what would make PSP a must-have if it had to compete against the Droid X and the emerging tablet market like the Samsung Galaxy? Simple. Make PSP2 the most gamer-friendly mini-tablet on the market. That way, the selling point can be that it is capable of everything a normal Android phone or tab can do, plus all these exclusive “Sony extras.”
For example, while Sony could make all their game apps available on the Android market, they could make feature-loaded versions available exclusively on the PlayStation Store, which only Sony PSP2 owners had access to. That way, the hardcore gamer gets something extra, but the casual gamer that owns a Droid X or a Samsung Galaxy is still a potential market for Sony apps … a market Sony currently has no access to, even through PSP Go.
In fact, instead of calling it PSP2, they could make the new product launch a clearer departure by calling it something related, but different. Like… I don’t know… The Sony PlayStation Tab!
And here’s the clincher; here’s what could really make a Sony PlayStation Tab a hot seller. Instead of going the cell-phone route, follow the eReader market model, and offer the Sony PlayStation Tab in two flavors: WiFi Only or 3G + WiFi. And cover the 3G bill for those who adopt the 3G+WiFi model, the way Amazon does for Kindle and Barnes and Noble does for Nook.
Imagine: the full Android OS and market, free wireless gaming (no data plan to purchase), plus access to enhanced games through the PlayStation Store. It could be an all-in-one gadget… eReader, app platform, gaming tab, and more.
With the data rates that wireless companies are charging consumers, suddenly a deal like that would make the Sony PlayStation Tab a really hot item on everyone’s list.